Strike Social Blog Cover (2024 Update) - How TikTok Measures Video Views on Ads

Exploring the Metrics: How TikTok Measures Video Views on Ads (2024 Update)


Strike Overview

  • As a video-centric platform, TikTok’s key advertising metric is video views, focusing on how long users engage with your content and how quickly they take action, like clicking your link after watching the ad.
  • TikTok has evolved beyond entertainment; 48% of users now actively follow or research brands and products on the app, making it a critical component of any brand’s media strategy.
  • With 90% of users opening TikTok multiple times daily, it’s vital for brands to capture attention quickly, engaging viewers within the first few seconds before they scroll away.

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This post was updated in October 2024 to provide you with the latest information.

The past five years have shown us one clear trend in digital advertising: consumer behavior has shifted dramatically, with a significant rise in both social commerce and video consumption. Among all the social media advertising networks, TikTok has seen an unprecedented surge in video ad views, indicating a massive increase in user engagement.

Contrary to popular belief, the data so far shows that it’s not just the younger generation that is fixated on the #FYP; people of all ages and backgrounds are tuning in. With thousands of viral videos, from #BookTok to #CleanTok, TikTok has established itself as a formidable social video platform industry contender.

From 2-Second Views to Full Plays: Exploring TikTok’s Video View Ad Metrics

Despite concerns about TikTok’s future in the US, the app remains a highly popular and engaging platform. With its user-friendly interface and a wide range of creative features, individuals and brands have discovered innovative ways to captivate audiences and boost their presence on TikTok continually. This includes leveraging the TikTok video editor to create and edit captivating videos.

According to a recent report from Statista, TikTok is emerging as a strong competitor to the popular streaming service Netflix. US adults spend 56 minutes daily on TikTok, only 6 minutes less than on Netflix. This data indicates that TikTok has captivated the attention of the masses and become an integral part of their daily lives.

Knowing the pulse of a growing trend is imperative in the advertising industry, as well as the engagement rate to further deduce overall intention and resonate with audiences. The growth of TikTok presents a unique opportunity for brands and businesses to capitalize on trends and improve their ROAS. And as more TikTok users spend watch time on their FYP (For You Page), video views for TikTok ads will continue to skyrocket.

Comparing the Different Types of Video View Metrics on TikTok Ads

To make the most of this opportunity, it’s important to understand the nuances of TikTok video views metrics, precisely the difference between View, 2-second, and 6-second views. By mastering these metrics and knowing when to use each, advertisers can optimize their campaigns for maximum impact.

What is a TikTok Ad View? 

The term paid “view” can mean different things on different platforms. On TikTok, any video ad playback is counted as a view, even if it’s just for a fraction of a second. However, as the platform is home to a community of hyper-swiper users, some video ads may be skipped over quickly, resulting in an ad impression instead of an ad view.

What is a TikTok Ad View - TikTok views vs. impressions vs. reach

So, what’s the importance of TikTok ad view metrics? One significant benefit is that they can help you understand the effectiveness of your audience targeting by looking at your TikTok View Rate (VR). This metric shows whether viewers are skipping or ignoring your TikTok ads. To calculate the view rate manually, divide the total number of video ad views (Views) by the total number of ads served (Impressions).

Let’s delve into an example of a TikTok view campaign. Our recent campaign had a View Rate of 92.24% and a Frequency of 1.29. With these metrics, we can infer that the campaign message effectively reaches most target demographics. Furthermore, we can deduce that most viewers are not quick-swipers, meaning they are more likely to consume the video ad content, ultimately improving the chances of driving conversions.


Further Reading

TikTok-Brand-Awareness-Ad-Objective-An-Opportunity-Media-Buyers-Should-Know-About
Why Advertisers Should Take Advantage of TikTok’s Brand Awareness Objective

As various peak retail seasons unfold throughout the year, it’s essential to develop discovery and brand awareness campaigns to stand out in a competitive market. Despite being a relative newcomer to the paid social industry, TikTok has quickly emerged as one of the most powerful tools for building brand recognition.


What is a 2-second view in a TikTok Video ad?

As advertisers compete for consumers’ attention on social media platforms, creating video ads worth the viewers’ time has become increasingly essential. At Strike Social, our team believes the 2-second Video View is a more valuable metric when calculating the TikTok Ads’ Cost Per View (CPV). According to a report by insiderintelligence.com, social media users have an average attention span of just 1.3 seconds when it comes to creative advertising opportunities. This is far shorter than TV consumers’ acceptable 30-second commercial attention span.

What is a 2-second view in a TikTok Video Ad - eMarketer dominant ad duration by platform

Using the 2-second Video View metric, advertisers can better understand how many viewers are engaged with their content beyond the initial impression. This can help them optimize their ad campaigns and reach the appropriate audience. Metrics like 2-second video plays can greatly influence the success of a video ad campaign, especially for those running on TikTok consideration objective, where both engagement and sustained views are essential for keeping audiences connected to the ad.

What is a 6-second view in a TikTok ad?

Being the center of internet culture and entertainment platforms, TikTok has proven its ability to produce viral trends and generate buzz around brands and businesses. TikTok ads deliver the same result as paid marketing efforts. The video-sharing platform treats viewership as equally important as other forms of engagement. The campaign successfully secures their undivided attention when viewers are determined to watch an ad for six seconds or more. This increases the ad’s memorability and drives top-of-mind brand recall.

What is a 6-second view in a TikTok ad - TikTok 6 second focused views

The 6-second views metric is beneficial for brand campaigns to increase awareness and recall. Another metric that can complement the 6-second View in a TikTok ad campaign is the average watch time. It also effectively measures engagement, showing how many viewers are invested in the ad content beyond just scrolling past it.


Further Reading

Strike Social Blog Header - TikTok-conversion-objective
Turning TikTok Views Into Sales and Conversions

Short-form content has transformed the consumer journey, shifting from traditional product research to brand discovery, engagement, and loyalty-building. With TikTok’s highly engaging conversion-focused ad solutions, these evolving purchase behaviors are here to stay, even as more consumers return to physical stores.


How Does TikTok Focused View Objective Compute Cost Per View?

In the third quarter of 2022, TikTok introduced a new video ad objective called Focused View. This new feature allows advertisers to connect with their target audience with a high intention to engage or watch the ad. Previously, video ads on TikTok were measured by Cost per Thousand Views (CPMV). But with the introduction of Tiktok’s Focused View, the platform switched to a Cost per 6-Second video view. This means advertisers only pay when a user watches the ad for at least 6 seconds or engages with the advertisement within the first 6 seconds rather than just seeing it.

So, how does Focused View work exactly?

TikTok’s algorithm is designed to optimize campaigns and serve ads to users who are likely to watch the advertisement beyond 6 seconds. This optimization is based on various factors such as user behavior, interests, and demographics. In addition to emotional engagement through viewership, TikTok’s algorithm also targets interactive engagement through visible ad interaction. This means the platform favors users with higher engagement chances, such as likes, comments, and shares.

By targeting users who are more likely to interact and connect, Focused View delivers higher engagement rates and better ROI for advertisers. In one of TikTok’s advertising partners, the 6-second Focused View objective drove an 11% increase in ad recall, an 18% more cost-efficient 2-second CPV, and a 53% higher average watch time per view, 2.8x higher completion rate.

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Boosting Your TikTok Ad Campaigns with Video Ad View Metrics

TikTok is increasingly emerging as a significant player in the entertainment industry, demonstrated by its remarkable surge in organic and paid video views, causing it to compete with major platforms such as YouTube and Netflix.

The platform’s continuous rollout of new features, such as discovery and search, ticket retailing, and paywalled 20-minute videos, has kept users, creators, and brands engaged and involved. As more users spend time on their FYP, TikTok video views ads are expected to surge. Understanding each Video ad View metric and optimizing campaigns based on pacing can help businesses and brands capitalize on this trend and improve their return on ad spend (ROAS).

Strike Social has worked with TikTok since 2019, building and refining paid campaigns within TikTok’s Business Center. We have extensive experience using TikTok’s native audiences and contextual search targeting to guarantee impressive metrics for our clients’ local campaigns within the DMA and most City levels.

With our expertise and understanding of TikTok’s video views metrics, we can help your business achieve maximum impact and success on the platform. Contact us today to learn more about our services and how we can help your brand succeed on TikTok.

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